Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis in animals refers to reproduction in which a new individual genetically identical to the parent develops from an unfertilized egg. The analogous event in plants, which results in seed formation without fertilization, is called agamospermy. Parthenogenesis is viewed as an aberration of sexual reproduction because animals that reproduce by parthenogenesis evolved from organisms that once reproduced sexually. In sexual reproduction female sex cells (ova) must be fertilized by male sex cells (typically sperm), for development to occur.